Year marked by new parks, retail tenants, cost-saving measures and more

As 2011 peters to a close, it's time to look back on what made the year memorable in Centennial Hills.

With the year almost in rear view, let us review what made 2011 great and what tested the endurance and strength of the city:

New neighbors

Many new businesses opened in Centennial Hills in 2011, including: BJ's Brew Pub; the Children's Place; Slidin' Thru; Carl's Jr.; Great Clips Hair Salon; a .99 Cents Store ; the Market Grille Café; Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center at Team Ford; Centennial Hyundai; Centennial Mazda; and Centennial Volkswagen.

Looking ahead, construction continues at Metro Pizza at Sky Pointe Drive and Cimarron Road and Winco Foods at Decatur Boulevard and Tropical Parkway. Sportsman's Warehouse is slated to open in Centennial Hills next year.

In October, Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Ross, Ward 6, partnered with Mayor Pro Tem Stavros Anthony to form the Northwest Las Vegas Business Network, whose mission is to "promote commerce in Wards 6 and 4 by partnering with businesses and advocating on their behalf, including supporting existing businesses and encouraging new business development and investment."

Meetings are slated to be held quarterly and rotate between the Durango Hills YMCA, 3521 N. Durango Drive, and the Centennial Hills YMCA, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive.

But it wasn't all work and no play in the northwest this year.

In February, Raptor Play Park opened at Durango Drive and Tropical Parkway. The park includes play, exercise and picnic areas, a splash pad water feature and restroom facilities.

In December, Knickerbocker Park welcomed its first families in the Providence community. The 15-acre park has jogging paths, a splash pad, play structures, an events field, a youth baseball field, picnic areas and a dog park and was funded by surplus homeowners association funds.

Power play

Three Centennial Hills parking lots were zapped with some green energy this year.

Photovoltaic solar car ports were completed at the Centennial Hills Community Center, Centennial Hills Park and Las Vegas Fire Station 41 .

The ports are expected to save money on energy costs and provide 30 percent to 60 percent of the total energy demand at each facility.

The projects were funded by rebates under the SolarGenerations program, a state implementation of the Solar Energy Incentives program.

Work began this year to replace 6,600 existing streetlights with new, energy-efficient LED, or light-emitting diode, fixtures .

When completed, the new streetlights are expected to reduce the city's yearly electricity use by 8 million kilowatt hours and save $400,000 per year in energy costs.

Annexation

Last fall, the Las Vegas City Council OK'd a decision to annex Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary, 8103 Racel St., from Clark County. The decision helps the sanctuary link up with city amenities, such as sewer lines, as it moves forward with a large-scale redevelopment project.

What's in a name?

After being opened as the Clark County Shooting Park in early 2010, the county decided to rename the rifle-
pistol, shotgun and archery center the Clark County Shooting Range in June.

Leaders of the 2,900-acre park, 11357 N. Decatur Blvd., said the name change better reflected its amenities.

Orange cone frenzy

The widening of U.S. Highway 95 from just north of Washington Avenue to Ann Road and beyond to Kyle Canyon Road continues to move forward.

Some of the five-phase, $650-plus million project to ease congestion has been completed.

Motorists welcomed the new Horse Drive interchange at Horse Drive and U.S. Highway 95 in January.

Highway widening to add auxiliary lanes from Washington Avenue to Ann Road is under way. The ramps to Cheyenne Avenue, Durango Drive, Ann Road and Lake Mead Boulevard and a bridge on Gowan Road are being improved for better access to Summerlin and Centennial Hills neighborhoods.

For more information, call 775-888-7592 or visit nevadadot.com. Road conditions inquiries can be handled by calling 511.

The $117 million Clark County Route 215 Bruce Woodbury Beltway project, aimed to improve the highway, install new interchanges, drainage and a bridge on the stretch between Tenaya Way and Decatur Boulevard, started in November.

New highway interchanges at Jones and Decatur boulevards and a new bridge will carry Bradley Road over the freeway in plans for the project. Periodic lane closures, detours and congestion can be expected through 2014. It is a Clark County Public Works Department project.

Roadway improvements on Ann Road between Cimarron and Leggett roads were completed last summer. The upgrades included adding pavement to widen Ann Road, curbs, gutters, streetlights and driveways.

In September, construction on the Gowan Outfall and Floyd Lamb Park Enhancement projects were interrupted when their contractor, Spirit Underground, filed for bankruptcy. City staff members hired Perini Construction to take over both projects, Ross' office said.

Elkhorn Road is slated be closed to through traffic between Torrey Pines Drive and Jones Boulevard through March 2012 due to a storm drainage improvement project.

Dinosaur digs

Work on a proposed national monument moved forward in 2011. Ross, the city of North Las Vegas, the Protectors of Tule Springs, the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, the National Parks Conservation Association, local environmental groups, Sen . Harry Reid and others worked together to have the archaeological potential of the Upper Las Vegas Wash area nationally recognized.

Supporters want to construct the Ice Age Park of Southern Nevada on 315 acres of the land, a proposed tourist destination, a research facility and home to the thousands of fossils already discovered there.

For more information on the Protectors of Tule Springs, visit tulespringslv.com or call 876-6944.

Foreclosure gains

Centennial Hills experienced more growing pains as foreclosure problems continued into 2011.

Ross hosted many foreclosure seminars to help residents stay in their homes, and in December, he introduced an ordinance that makes financial institutions responsible for cleaning up their vacant, foreclosed properties by requiring them to first register these properties with the city of Las Vegas. The ordinance was passed unanimously by the City Council.

The ordinance allows the city to track homes early in the foreclosure process and hold lenders accountable for maintaining their properties. When homes go into default, lenders are required to register with the city and provide ongoing maintenance of the property until new owners are found. Lenders also are required to provide a contact name and phone number. The city is to use this information to monitor the properties and ensure they are maintained.

Ross recall attempts

Ross faced foes this year in the political arena and beyond.

At the end of 2010, Ross announced plans to run for mayor of Las Vegas, with sights set on job creation and downtown development. In June, Ross was defeated for the seat by former Mayor Oscar Goodman's wife, Carolyn Goodman.

On May 19, the Committee to Recall Steve Ross filed state paperwork with the intent to oust the councilman from office. Three months later, the group fell short of its state-required 1,083 signatures needed to move on with a recall election.

The group wasn't defeated, though. In October, organizers tried again to gather enough signatures. In mid-December, the group announced it had more than enough to force a new election.

The Clark County Registrar verified the findings, and unless successfully petitioned, voters could be participating in a recall election early next year.

Contact Centennial and North Las Vegas View reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@viewnews.com or 477-3839.